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Memories of Deception	By : professorflo Category: Harry Potter > General > General Views: 20868 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters within. I make no money from this story.

Chapter List
- 1-Memories of Deception
- 2-2
- 3-3
- 4-4
- 5-5
- 6-6
- 7-7
- 8-8
- 9-9.
- 10-10
- 11-11
- 12-12
- 13-13
- 14-14
- 15-15
- 16-16
- 17-17
- 18-18
- 19-19
- 20-20
- 21-21
- 22-22
- 23-23
- 24-24
- 25-25
- 26-26
- 27-27
- 28-28
- 29-29
- 30-30
- 31-31
- 32-32
- 33-33
- 34-34
- 35-35
- 36-36
- 37-37
- 38-38
- 39-39
- 40-40
- 41-41
- 42-42
- 43-43
- 44-44
- 45-45
- 46-46
- 47-47
- 48-48
- 49-49
- 50-50
- 51-51
- 52-52
- 53-53
- 54-54
- 55-55
- 56-56
- 57-57
- 58-58
- 59-59
- 60-60
- 61-61
- 62-62
- 63-63
- 64-64
- 65-65
- 66-66
- 67-67
- 68-68
- 69-69
- 70-70
- 71-71
- 72-72
- 73-73
- 74-74
- 75-75
- 76-76
- 77-77
- 78-78
- 79-79
- 80-80
- 81-81
- 82-82
- 83-83
- 84-84
- 85-85
- 86-86
- 87-87
- 88-88
- 89-89
- 90-90
- 91-91
- 92-92
- 93-93
- 94-94
- 95-95
- 96-96
- 97-97
- 98-98
- 99-99
- 100-100
- 101-101
- 102-102
- 103-103
- 104-104
- 105-105
- 106-106
- 107-107
- 108-108
- 109-109
- 110-110
- 111-111
- 112-112
- 113-113
- 114-114
- 115-115
- 116-116
- 117-117
- 118-118
- 119-119
- 120-120
- 121-121
- 122-122
- 123-123
- 124-124
- 125-125
- 126-126
- 127-127
- 128-128
- 129-129
- 130-130
- 97
- 98
- 99
Disclaimer: See Chapter 1

Hermione grabbed the set of oversized robes that she had been wearing earlier, and dove into the bathroom. She had planned on taking a quick shower, but once under the water she was reluctant to leave. She quickly washed her hair before cleaning herself, wincing at the ache between her legs as she carefully wiped away the remains of dried blood. The hot water felt amazing, and she turned up the heat, thankful for the never-ending supply at Hogwarts, and enjoying the feeling of being clean, especially after so many months on the run. Thinking back to her appearance when she had woken, she realised that Snape must have cleaned her somehow before leaving her in his bed. Her cheeks burned with the recollection of waking up naked under his sheets, despite having been so intimate with him not so long ago.
Scrubbing her face with her hands and groaning with embarrassment, she thought back to how brazenly she had propositioned him. What must he think of her? The man obviously loved his solitude, but she had inserted herself so forcefully into his life, and all but demanded he have sex with her. Not that the experience had been bad, at least for her. He clearly didn't have much more experience than she, and she wondered whether he had enjoyed it at all, or if it had just been one more task he had to force himself to do. Either way, she couldn't be more grateful for everything, not just the sex and the kindness, but for the selfless way he had offered to let her leave, and then when she had refused, his promises that he would protect her. The notion that she could feel so safe with Severus Snape would have been unbelievable only a day ago.
Regretfully she turned off the water, wishing she could stay longer, but enticed into stepping out of the shower and onto the cold tiles by the thought of the potion that Snape had likely already started. She towelled herself dry as quickly as possible, running her fingers through the tangles in her hair and wishing for her brush. She reluctantly pulled it back into a low ponytail before wrapping Snape's robes around her once more and leaving the bathroom.
She found the door of Snape's lab still ajar, and put out her hand to push it fully open, but it never connected with the wood. A ward stopped her from entering, leaving a strange tingle in her fingers. Peering through the gap she could just about make out Snape, his back to the door. "Pro… er, Sir…? I can't…." She saw Snape's hand come up to wave absently, and the door suddenly swung open by itself. She took a cautious step forward, before entering the room when she found the ward gone.
Snape was busy toiling over a tray of ingredients, a simmering cauldron besides him. Hermione came up to stand near beside him, and quickly took stock of her surroundings. They were much as she would have expected from his own private laboratory – well organised, tidy, and scrupulously clean. The only cupboard at the end of the room that stood open was filled with shelves upon shelves of neat jars and phials of ingredients, only a few of which she could identify from that distance. Snape suddenly seemed to notice her, and pushed the open book which sat on the worktop along in front of her, indicating wordlessly that she should read it. He returned to his work again.
Hermione looked down at the book, which seemed to be a notebook filled with pages of Snape's scrawling writing. Fascinated, she read quickly through his notes on his variation of the potion, interested by the different steps he had taken before finding the correct ingredients and method. Upon finishing she found she had some questions, but was more interested in seeing what else the notebook contained. Quickly she flicked through, wanting to see if anything particular caught her eye. She'd was close to the back when a hand came down over hers, slamming the book shut. She looked up at him, her surprise making her forget the glimpse she had got of the last page.
Snape seemed rattled somehow, his face dark and anxious. She took a step back, half-expecting him to shout at her for prying, but after a moment of tense silence he growled, "Sit down." The notebook disappeared so quickly she wasn't sure whether he had magicked it away or not.
The potion took under an hour to compete. Hermione sat across from Snape at the workbench, listening attentively as he quickly described the whole process, before falling quiet once more, except occasionally to explain something further, or to ask her to fetch something. There were long periods of silence where she covertly watched the sure movements of his long fingers as he chopped and minced the ingredients, stirring the potion gently. She blushed as she remembered how those fingers had brushed gently across her skin, dipping in to stroke her most private places, mere hours before. Occasionally she would feel his gaze upon her, and would look up to see his dark eyes simmering with some indefinable emotion, before he would quickly return his attention to the potion, the faintest hint of red colouring his cheeks.
When he walked round the counter to gently prick her finger with a needle she was all too aware of how both of their hands trembled as they touched, then Snape retreated back quickly, dropping the precious few drops of red into the cauldron. A tight feeling seemed to settle deep under her ribs as Hermione watched him continue to work silently. There were no more explanations as to what he was doing.
Time both seemed to stand still and fly simultaneously, and suddenly he was turning off the burner and emptying the contents of the cauldron into small phials. Hermione realised that she had barely paid attention to what he had been doing, and if asked, would not be able to give any details of the brewing. Hopefully he would not expect her to.
Slowly she get up from her stool, wincing at the half-forgotten ache between her legs. Snape noticed her quiet gasp and looked up from his task.
"Forgive me, I didn't think…" He put down the now empty cauldron, and stoppering the final phial, stalked over to the far end of the room. He opened the cupboard on the end and pulled something out, before returning to Hermione and presenting her with a small bottle. She took it, not recognising the potion inside, and looked up at him in question. "It will heal you… uh, down there." He flushed again and turned from her, busying himself with packing the newly-made potion into a small wooden box, only leaving one on the worktop. She downed the contents on the bottle in her hand and sighed in relief as the ache between her legs faded.
"It is time, Miss Granger. We should not waste any more of this morning before…"
"…before beginning this charade. Yes, I know." She swallowed nervously, wishing she could be more courageous in the face of what was about to happen. "What about my books and notes?"
"I will take care of them. They will be put into a safe place until the next time you need them."
"So… what else do we need to do?" She cast her mind around to think of things that were yet to be discussed or decided.
"I believe everything is in order, unless you can think of anything you wish to ask."
"What about...uh… Where will I be sleeping? With you in your room? Or…"
"No, I will not inflict my presence on you in that way. I believe it would be better for you to have your own space."
"But where…"
"Come, Miss Granger." He swept from the room, taking the single phial with him. He was gone so quickly that he was opening the door into the hall as Hermione exited his lab. Once out of the bedroom Snape stopped. He pressed both hands to the wall and closed his eyes. Hermione paused in the doorway, watching him in bemusement and wondering what it was that he was doing, but when a door appeared in the wall next to him her mouth formed a silent 'o' of amazement.
"I didn't know you could do that," she breathed excitedly.
Snape stood up straight. "One of the privileges of being Headmaster of a sentient castle." He smirked, but the amusement didn't last long, and his face fell.
"What's the matter?"
"Nothing, Miss Granger." He opened the door and ushered her through. The room was small and bare, except for a single bed and a chair, but she barely notice, only having eyes from the man who followed her in.
"It's obviously not just nothing. You look like you were just kicked in the stomach." Snape directed her towards the bed and she sank down onto it, still looking up at him for a reply.
He looked at her then as if incredulous that she would talk to him in such a way. Surprisingly though, he answered, turning his face from her enough that he could hide it behind the thick curtain of hair. "The castle will only respond to the rightful Head of the school. If it considers a person unworthy of the position they will find themselves unable to tap into its magic. They will not be able to adjust the wards, apparate on and off the grounds, or to do what you have just seen me do. Miss Granger, would you mind getting into bed."
Hermione complied even as she continued the conversation. Snape turned away as she pulled his robes from around her and slipped under the thin cover. "So that's why Umbridge was unable to get into Dumbledore's office. I remember Professor McGonagall being particular happy about that." Realisation dawned on her. "But… then surely she knows about the castle. Didn't she suspect anything when it didn't reject you?"
Snape risked a peep at her, and upon realising she was in the bed he came and sat down beside her. "No," he said bitterly, and Hermione realised this was at the heart of why he had seemed so downhearted a moment before. "She is either too stupid to realise, or she is too blinded by hatred of me to accept the castle's approval of my position. I know which one I believe it is."
"I'm so sorry. You deserve better." She reached a hand up to touch his cheek. "And now you're doing this for me, yet another horrible task forced upon you, and all along I'll hate you for it, hate you for keeping me safe and protecting me. And you'll have to bear it all by yourself." She brushed her thumb across the corner of his mouth. "How will you manage?" she asked sadly.
He pulled back from her slightly, his dark eyes unreadable. "As I always have."
His words sounded confident, but he suddenly seemed to have aged ten years before her eyes. She wanted to comfort him, but his body language told her he was unlikely to accept such a gesture.
"Are you ready, Miss Granger, or do you have anything else you wish to ask first?"
She paused, but her mind seemed to have gone blank with terror, and she could only shake her head at him. Her heart was suddenly pounding so loud and fast in her chest that she could barely breathe, and she felt like she was going to throw up.
Snape obviously could read something in her expression, for her quickly uncorked the phial in his hand and pressed it to her lips. "Drink, Miss Granger. It will help."
She allowed him to tip the contents into her mouth, and swallowed, all the while looking up into his eyes. His fingers lingered near her lips, but after a moment he cleared his throat and looked away, letting his hand fall into his lap, still holding the empty phial.
"How long should it take to work? I can't feel any change."
"It is already working, but you should not notice the effects. Tell me, are you still as worried as you were a few moments ago."
"Yes, I… I mean…" She thought for a moment, unsure suddenly what he meant. She could remember feeling anxious about what was to happen, but the memory was somehow unclear, as if it had happened long ago, rather than mere seconds. "Wha…what happened?"
He smiled gently down at her. "A few moments ago you were terrified, but now, even the memory of being so has been… softened, for want of a better word. I'm sure you can recall what I explained earlier about how the potion works. It has to be subtle enough not to attract attention. It took a long time to get the recipe just right."
"But why would you ever need to make such a thing? It's for a rather specific purpose, isn't it?"
"Perhaps that is a story for another day," he replied, and despite her curiosity she fell silent, something in his tone telling her he would not be forthcoming, no matter what she said.
Snape pulled a clean phial out of his pocket. "Unless you have any more questions, we should proceed."
"I… I'm ready, I think. What do I need to do?"
"Please lay back and relax. You must pull forward the memories you wish me to extract, I will do the rest."
He reached inside one cuff and drew his wand out. He lifted it towards her, but impulsively she caught him by the wrist, holding him still. She could feel the tension in the muscles under her fingers.
"Thank you, for everything."
"No thanks are necessary, Miss Granger. I only do what I must." he said stiffly.
Hermione stared up at him for a moment longer, then let go of his wrist, closing her eyes and and trying to relax as he pressed his wand against her temple.
"I can only hope that one day you will be able to forgive me." He whispered the words so quietly that she was unsure if he had meant her to hear them.
She opened her eyes one final time and smiled up at him tremulously. "I already did."
The memory clicked into place and Hermione fell forwards onto her hands and knees. Oh my Gods… He did all that, for… for me! And I just left him there… She began to retch, unable to see anything but the contrast between the look of anguish on his face when she had forgiven him, and the almost peaceful mask he had worn as she had abandoned his dead body in the Shrieking Shack.
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Memories of Deception